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F-44 Rapier-II
Out of all
the numerous combat aerospace craft produced during the long Terran-Kilrathi
War, no other fighter is as instantly recognized as the F-44 Rapier-II.
Combining high agility, lethal payload and durability, the Rapier-II
proved more than a match for three generations of Kilrathi fighters,
and fueling the careers of the Confederation’s top aces. Today even
after half a century after its introduction, variants of the F-44 remain
in service, attesting to the fundamental strength of its design.
Origins
The F-44 began
development in 2650.107 in response to a joint TCSF/TCN request for
proposals (RFP) of a new high-performance, carrier based medium attack
fighter capable of serving both in atmosphere and deep space. Intended
to replace the aging CF-105 Scimitar in the medium attack role
and the CF-117 Rapier in the superiority role, the requirements
set out by the RFP were considered a formidable challenge. These requirements
included a maximum cruising speed of at least 415kps, four medium guns,
four missile hard-points and either the Manners Arms and Shielding Mk.35
“Aegis” shield generators from the A-14 Raptor or a model
of comparable output. Finally the design was expected to be compact
enough for operations from converted Exeter class destroyers
and Waterloo class cruisers.
Faced
with this daunting combination of requirements, Origin Aerospace assigned
two design teams, team “A” led by Denis Loubet and Keith Berdak
and team “B” led by Glen Johnson and John Watson to come up with
design proposals. Team-A focused upon a derivative of the highly successful
F-36 Hornet, designed by Berdak just five years prior, replacing
the somewhat underpowered McCall Industries RS-750 engines with their
newly designed RS-1150. This design code-named OA-150A, retained the
single engine, dual exhaust design of the F-36, while greatly strengthening
the fuselage and canard structure to mount greater weaponry.
Team-B
on the other hand began the airframe from scratch, focusing on designing
around the RS-580 engines then being developed by Voight Inc. The dual-engine
design resembled something of a vague cross between the F-36 and A-14,
sharing the wing and canard structure of both, while adding a distinct
wing root mount for the engine cowling. This engine configuration freed
significantly more space within the fuselage, allowing for the mounting
of a full set of Mk.35 shield generators and greater fuel capacity.
Both
designs were submitted to the Joint Forces Aerospace Committee in 2651.251,
alongside proposals from both Douglas Aerospace and Camelot Industries.
After several weeks of evaluation, the Committee chose to go ahead with
the Douglas G-80 proposal (later to become the Hellcat V) and
the OA-150B. The 150B scored higher than the Douglas G-80 on the evaluation
scale, but had the draw-back of being based on unproven technology.
As a result, the TCSF was reluctant to issue a contract before further
evaluation, instead providing Douglas with an order for 1,500 G-80 derivatives
on 2652.072, and a contract for 2 evaluation model OA-150Bs from Origin
Aerospace, now tentatively designated YF-44.
Mock-up
and construction of the first YF-44 (BuNo. 2735) began later in the
year, as delays in the development of the RS-580 stalled the development
process. Fearing that the successful introduction of the Douglas design
would mean cancellation of the YF-44 program, Johnson and Watson prevailed
upon Origin management to allow the YF-44-1 to be fitted with the existing
RS-520 engine by McCall. Despite the reluctance to switch engine manufacturers,
the management acquiesced in early 2653, and the YF-44-1 prototype took
flight within a month of this approval.
While
the RS-520 had comparable peak output to the RS-580, its standard operating
output was approximately 15% lower. This created several problems with
the original design specifications, particularly in armament and armor.
The YF-44-1, equipped with armor comparable to the CF-105 and the neutron-gun/gatling
mass-driver combination so successfully tested with the A-14 fell well
short of the original performance goals.
As
a result the second prototype, YF-44-2 replaced the gatling mass-drivers
with the Mk.25 long-barrel laser cannons from the F-36, and removed
several centimeters of armor from non-critical areas. The resultant
weight reduction and increase in fuel storage made the YF-44-2 a significantly
more nimble fighter, with a top cruising speed of 450kps and greater
endurance under afterburner. While some concerns were raised at the
reduction in armor plating, both TCSF and TCN evaluators were sufficiently
impressed with the craft’s performance that they ordered a combat
evaluation batch of 120 fighters in 2654.035, officially designating
the YF-44A as the Rapier-II.
YF-44-1
Specifications
Powerplant/Armament:
Two McCall Industries RS-520 Ramscoop Impulse Engines with Single-Stage
Liquid Fuel Afterburner, Two Wing-Mounted Mk.30A Gatling Mass Driver
Cannons, Two Canard Mounted Mk.40F Neutron Gun
Performance:
Maximum Cruising Velocity – 410 kps; Cruising Velocity – 240 kps;
Acceleration – 220km/s^2; Afterburner Velocity – 1200 kps; Afterburner
Acceleration – 850 km/s^2; Yaw – 7 dps (JFAC-50 standard), Pitch
– 9 dps, Roll – 7 dps; Standard Braking Time – 4.7 seconds; Shield
Strength – 7cm DSE Fore/Aft, Armor Rating – 6cm/6cm/5cm DSE Fore/Aft/Side;
Engagement Envelope – 58 AU
YF-44-2
Specifications
Powerplant/Armament:
Two McCall Industries RS-520 Ramscoop Impulse Engines with Single-Stage
Liquid Fuel Afterburner, Two Wing-Mounted Mk.25 Long-Barrel Laser cannons,
Two Canard Mounted Mk.40F Neutron Gun
Performance:
Maximum Cruising Velocity – 440 kps; Cruising Velocity – 250 kps;
Acceleration – 240km/s^2; Afterburner Velocity – 1250 kps; Afterburner
Acceleration – 875 km/s^2; Yaw – 9 dps (JFAC-50 standard), Pitch
– 9 dps, Roll – 8 dps; Standard Braking Time – 4.2 seconds; Shield
Strength – 7cm DSE Fore/Aft, Armor Rating – 5cm/4cm/3cm DSE Fore/Aft/Side;
Engagement Envelope – 62 AU
Birth of
a Legend: The Rapier-II Goes to War
The
first YF-44As rolled off the assembly line in early 2654 and began evaluation
trials among active duty squadrons. Pilot responses to these trials
were overwhelmingly positive, with the YF-44A showing a marked edge
in combat exercises against existing Terran designs. Perhaps the most
famous of these trials were conducted between the Gray Hornets and Death
Merchants, the former flying the YF-44A and the latter the first production
model Hellcat V. The Gray Hornets handedly won the competition
with a 6:1 kill ratio, a fact later leaked to the press on the eve of
the Vega Sector Campaign.
The
first combat deployment of the YF-44A occurred aboard the famed TCS
Tiger’s Claw during its operations in the Gimle System, where
a pair of YF-44As was flown by 1st Lieutenant Christopher
“Maverick” Blair and Captain Jeanette “Angel” Devereaux on a
routine patrol mission in 2654.135. More than satisfied with its performance
under fire, the Navy and Space Force officially placed a contract for
536 F-44As.
With
its sleek silhouette and distinctive wing-root mounted engines, the
YF-44A/F-44A was a fighter difficult to confuse with existing designs.
Though it had some component commonality with other Origin designs,
the F-44 was the first fighter produced by the company to include advanced
tungsten alloys in its construction, allowing a full monocoque design
capable of withstanding the stresses of high-speed combat. The monocoque
construction made the fighter easier to maintain despite its greater
complexity, and squadrons equipped with the F-44 began to routinely
place in the top ranks of the maintenance category.
The
production model F-44A differed from the YF-44A in only minor details.
The cockpit for the F-44A was slightly redesigned and reinforced with
additional plasteel plating over the pilot seat. While this slightly
reduced cockpit visibility, this was considered an acceptable price
to pay for increased pilot survivability. In addition the rather finicky
B.S. Tripwire radar from the prototype was replaced by the smaller and
more energy efficient Hawkeye AW5i.
Deployment
of the F-44A continued briskly through the latter part of 2654 and early
2655, with priority going to front-line carriers such as the Tiger’s
Claw and Kyoto. As the premier space superiority fighter
for the Confederation, the F-44A saw extensive service along the front-lines,
with some of the top aces of the Confederation earning their ace ribbons
in the newly deployed fighter.
Shouldering
much of the war burden during the latter part of the 2650s, the F-44A
was the most extensively produced fighter of that decade, with some
23,728 produced. Fighters after the 1,273rd model off the
production line can be distinguished by the fact that they have option
points capable of mounting additional missiles; however in practice
most pilots found these hard points to reduce fighter performance to
unacceptable levels.
YF-44A/F-44A
Specifications
Powerplant/Armament:
Two McCall Industries RS-520 Ramscoop Impulse Engines with Single-Stage
Liquid Fuel Afterburner, Two Wing-Mounted Mk.25 Long-Barrel Laser cannons,
Two Canard Mounted Mk.40F Neutron Gun, 5 Missile Hardpoints typically
mounting 1 Spiculum Image Recognition Missile, 2 Dart
Dumb-Fire missiles, 2 Pilum Friend-or-Foe Missiles, From BuNo.
4592 Onward: 5 Additional Option Mounts
Performance:
Maximum Cruising Velocity – 450 kps; Cruising Velocity – 250 kps;
Acceleration – 250km/s^2; Afterburner Velocity – 1300 kps; Afterburner
Acceleration – 920 km/s^2; Yaw – 10 dps (JFAC-50 standard), Pitch
– 10 dps, Roll – 10 dps; Standard Braking Time – 4.2 seconds;
Shield Strength – 8.5cm DSE Fore/Aft, Armor Rating – 5cm/4cm/3cm
DSE Fore/Aft/Side; Engagement Envelope – 62 AU
F-44B
“Jumpscout” Rapier-II
While
the F-44A proved to be a highly capable superiority fighter compared
to other Terran designs, it did lack the CF-117’s jump drive limiting
its engagement envelope. This did not overly bother the TCN, which was
happy with the capabilities and relative ease of maintenance found on
the F-44A, but the TCSF quickly found that it needed a jump capable
superiority fighter to escort A-14 Raptors and A-17 Broadswords
on long-range strike missions.
This
culminated in the development of the jump-capable F-44B, which mounted
a single Voight Aw-7 Jump Drive capable of short-range jump missions.
In addition to the jump drive, the F-44B required the installation of
a B.S. Explorer II navigation system, which forced the design team to
switch out the electronics suite from the Hawkeye AW5i with the smaller
Iris Mk.IIb. Because of fuel concerns, the option mounts found on the
later production F-44A was made standard for the F-44B, typically being
used to mount drop tanks for jump drive use.
In
practice the F-44B proved to be an able, if finicky performer. Because
of its relatively small size, the Aw-7 tended to require more maintenance
than the rest of the fighter, the twin RS-520 engines often rattling
the unit out of sync. This led to a marked increase in maintenance and
down-times with the B-model Rapier, a state unheard of in the easy to
maintain A-model. Further the Iris Mk.IIb proved to be less than adequate
for strike roles, and most F-44B deployments were conducted with the
use of a “spotter” craft in the form of an A-14 or A-17, often negating
the high-speed strike capability offered.
On
the other hand, the F-44B proved to be the most romanticized and famous
of the Rapier-II line, featuring prominently in Saranya Carr’s
Luna Jones: Jumpscout series, which earned it the affectionate nickname
of “Jumpscout” in the service. Perhaps not coincidentally after
its holo debut in 2656, the F-44B found itself running high speed reconnaissance
jump runs, a role in which its combination of high speed and durability
suited it admirably.
Though
never produced in the quantities of the A-model, there were 4,738 F-44B
completed over the course of the 2650s. Most were deployed either aboard
strike carriers or frontier air bases, where they continued to serve
well into the 2660s.
F-44B Specifications
Powerplant/Armament:
Two McCall Industries RS-520 Ramscoop Impulse Engines with Single-Stage
Liquid Fuel Afterburner, Voight Aw-7 Liquid Fuel Akwende Drive, Two
Wing-Mounted Mk.25 Long-Barrel Laser cannons, Two Canard Mounted Mk.40F
Neutron Gun, 10 Missile Hardpoints typically mounting 2 Spiculum
Image Recognition Missiles, 4 Dart Dumb-Fire missiles, 2 Pilum
Friend-or-Foe Missiles, 2 drop-tanks
Performance:
Maximum Cruising Velocity – 450 kps; Cruising Velocity – 250 kps;
Acceleration – 250km/s^2; Afterburner Velocity – 1300 kps; Afterburner
Acceleration – 920 km/s^2; Yaw – 10 dps (JFAC-50 standard), Pitch
– 10 dps, Roll – 10 dps; Standard Braking Time – 4.2 seconds;
Shield Strength – 8.5cm DSE Fore/Aft, Armor Rating – 5cm/4cm/3cm
DSE Fore/Aft/Side; Engagement Envelope – 74 AU; Jump Range – 3 Jumps
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